British Tunes That Rule!

KINKS, WHO, STONES: Defining a Nation

The Victoria Advocate in Victoria, Texas has compiled a list of songs that define British rock and have stood the test of time.

• The Kinks: "Waterloo Sunset" (1967) - "The song is full of imagery that reflects the London scenery."
• Pink Floyd: "See Emily Play" (1967) - "The song shows the band's budding complexity and Syd Barrett's sense of humor and adventure, well represented by the brief harpsichord scale in the first bridge."
• Moody Blues: "Tuesday Afternoon" (1967) - "'Tuesday Afternoon' beautifully represents the band's attempts at blending classical music and rock, which features a tempo change and a nice flute solo at the end that mimics the vocal melody."
• Cream: "Sunshine of Your Love" (1967) - "With its mixture of psychedelia, jazz and heavy blues, the song strongly identifies the 1960s British sound."
• Traffic: "Dear Mr. Fantasy" (1967) - "'Dear Mr. Fantasy' is a jam band favorite, being performed by a number of bands from The Grateful Dead to Jimi Hendrix to Tesla. The reason is that the song is open-ended with tempo changes that allow guitarists ample solo opportunities."
• The Zombies: "Time of the Season" (1968) - "Strangely, The Zombies were a bigger hit in the U.S. than in their native Britain. 'Time of Season' is possibly the soundtrack of the 'Summer of Love' period."
• Led Zeppelin: "Communication Breakdown" (1969) - "This song rocks hard. One of the most noticeable features is Jimmy Page's down-stroke picking, which would influence Johnny Ramone. The tune is Led Zeppelin's heaviest song."
• The Who: "See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You" (1969) - "The song starts off slow and continues to build tempo throughout, kept in time by drummer Keith Moon and sung with sweet three-part harmony in the finishing piece, 'Listening to You.'"
• David Bowie: "Space Oddity" (1969) - "Big in Britain, the song originally did little in the U.S., but became a major hit when it was re-released in 1973."
• Rolling Stones: "Gimme Shelter" (1969) - "Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' apocalyptic 'Gimme Shelter' is arguably the Stones' finest... However, the most potent feature of the song is the powerful voice of Merry Clayton, who even gets a vocal solo in the song. Previously, Clayton had been one of Ray Charles's Raelettes and later would sing background on Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home Alabama